No Comment: Opposing Domestic Violence With Homophobia

Someone recently sent me an article at Comment Dit-On?about a new anti-domestic violence ad in Chile that tells men not to hit women by using openly homophobic language—specifically saying that a man who hits a woman is a maricón, the equivalent of “faggot.”

Translation of the main text: “A faggot is one who hurts a woman.”

It’s a blatant example of the way leftist groups often undermine each other, fighting one form of inequality or discrimination by reinforcing another (see: everything PETA ever did). The group that put out the PSA added that a man who hits a woman is poco hombre, or barely a man, reinforcing the idea that gay men are insufficiently masculine. As the Comment Dit-on? post author says, “Clearly, a larger conversation needs to take place about what it means to be powerful and attitudes that marginalize the powerless.”

This post was originally at Sociological Images. Update: Sociological Images reader chinamorena says, “Adding an interesting layer is the fact that the second man who speaks in the ad is Jordi Castell, a publicly gay TV personality.”

Comments

That is epic stupidity. That sort of paternalistic anxious masculinity is why IPV happens in the first place. Like being "less of a man/more like a woman" is to lower yourself, hence, women are lower than men, hence, it's okay to use violence to subjugate them. It's just feeding into the problem.

Ironic to use homophobia to counter domestic violence since both are grounded in sexism. In cultures where women are devalued there is more violence against them, as well as more gay bashing (because gay men are seen to be woman-like). Value women and lose both problems! http://broadblogs.com/